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Friday, April 29, 2011

Yesterday it rained, the day before I spent writing for three different blogs, so Tuesday must have been the last time I ventured into my backyard.

Spring Has Sprung
As I stepped out about an hour ago, I noticed that life had spring up all over - I was overcome with weeds throughout the walkway, at least three baby maple trees springing up within the weeds (how apropos for Arbor day!), the peach tree is in bloom, my tiger lilies have grown up to my knees and the wisteria is readying to climb all over the back fence again this year. After witnessing all of that I don't know why I was surprised when I opened my compost bin, but having visited it and layered it only three days ago, I was. The last thing I expectd to see in my compost bin was this:

It's beautiful. It's exciting. However, I have no idea what it is!

And one more thing - it's not alone!

Here's another baby one

And the other corner...

A couple of weeks ago I gave up my hopes of having a hot compost pile when I discovered that all of the "brown" materials I had been using were among the slowest to decompose. Alas, without steam emanating from my pile I simply had to trust that I was doing the right thing and that, in time, my rich soil would be produced. One issue with a compost pile that is not hot is that any seeds added to the mix will not be killed with the heat. ...Although I consciously understood I there would be no hot compost, I seemed to have forgotten that very important detail about the seeds until seeing my beautiful new babies.

The Good News

As an insatiable optimist, I am always looking for the positive spin on things. So here are the pluses:

The soil in my bin can support life, perhaps even better than I can! (I am never very good at growing anything from a seed.)

My goal this summer has been to grow food in my backyard, while I am still waiting for my tomato and asparagus plants, potato and pepper seeds to arrive (along with a nectarine tree!!) some food has already started growing! I am on my way!

The Puzzling Part - Gardeners WHAT DO YOU SEE?

I called this post "My Compost Conundrum" for a reason - I am completely confused. I have no idea what I am growing back there and I am afraid I might kill it if I just start digging it out to find out! Here are some of the things that I have put in the compost bin that may have had seeds with it:

bell peppers ~ this would be awesome since the bell pepper plants were all sold out and I am relying on my ability to grow something from a seed (see above for reference to my lack of confidence in this area) to get my bell peppers going in the back.

pumpkin~ while cleaning out my backyard I noticed someone simply moved a jack-o-lantern from the front of the house to an ignored corner of the backyard after Halloween. I shoveled the orange goo (which did include seeds) up and threw it in my compost bin.

apples~ I have been eating apples like crazy lately and I have been chucking the whole cores right into the compost. Could I have an orchard growing in my bin?

potatoes... maybe?~ I have put potato skins/peelings in the compost. They might have included "eyes." I worry about this possibility because I know if you grow potatoes in a patch of soil, then that soil should not be used for potatoes or a number of other plants in the following growing season. If they are potatoes is my compost ruined??

zucchini ~ I feel like I had to compost a part of a zucchini that got gross because I didn't use it in time. It was either a zucchini or a yellow squash - something like that. I was sad about it, but flt a little bit better about it knowing I was composting it and not just throwing it away.

Beyond that, I am stumped. I am sure I will be thinking of new things every hour, but those are the biggies. I know one of you fabulous gardeners took one look at those pictures and knew INSTANTLY what we are looking at here - so let me know!! Even if it is not on my list above, that probably means I just forgot to list it!

My Questions for ANYONE to Answer

What the heck am I growing in my compost bin?

How did this happen? Is my compost too wet? Is it because I didn't turn my compost?

Is this good news or bad news for my compost?

How and where should I transplant these plants? Should they go in a pot/container, or into my garden?

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Homeless, lucky to be alive, but incapable of knowing what steps to take in order to continue to live. You're not alone - your neighbors are in the same boat, if they are lucky and while there are promises of government aid you've got to wonder - What does that really mean for me and my family?

I saw one girl on the news tonight covered in mud, hair strewn all over who said, "I don't mean to sound materialistic or anything, but... I mean... we lost everything." She broke my heart - so apologetic in her feeling of loss, as if she should be somehow thankful for her current situation. Her loss is so far beyond that of a materialistic loss - it is loss of home, security and trust in nature. She will grow stronger from this loss, but right now that girl and all those who have survived to see the devastation and live with it, need our help.

What Can We Do?

If you sat down to dinner with your family tonight on a chair, with a roof over your head and have a bed awaiting your resting head at the end of this day, then perhaps you may want to consider donating, or if you or close enough, lending a hand to one of the following organizations.

The Alabama Food Bank to help bring food to the many families that will be searching for it. You can donate food or money to any number of areas in Alabama.

Feeding America is the organization that runs food banks all over the United States. While Alabama was the hardest hit, a number of states were affected (see this Wikipedia article for the details of where the tornadoes hit and what kinds of damage have been reported in those areas).

Salvation Army is working throughout the region to help. So far they have "mobilized 10 feeding units and a communications unit. Another 22 mobile feeding units including catering trucks, mobile kitchens, and a 20,000 meal per day full service field kitchen have been placed on standby. Units are providing food, beverage, and spiritual support to storm victims."

[Update:GOOD magazine has released its own article with links directing you to find places to help!]

Finally, spread the word. Tomorrow will be a big global news day with the Royal nuptials on the minds and appointment calendars of so many. It is easy to see how those who are suffering may get second billing when they need our attention most. Let's not forget Prince William's years of charity work and honor him and his new wife on their wedding day by spreading the good will so dear to their hearts.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

If there is anything that drives me nuts it is when finances take front stage where they don't belong. I just signed a petition concerning our food safety and how food rgulation in the United States is being largely hindered by corporate influence.

THIS IS RIDICULOUS.

Along with the form letter there was an option section to add in my own two cents. As I was limited to 700 characters (spaces included), I got a little creative with my editting, here's what I wrote:

Food & finances don’t mix. The former determines humanity’s survival while the latter is a man-made abstraction created to place value on things, services & time. NOTHING is more valuable than food. In a capitalist society, this reality is overshadowed by the “power” of $. The FDA & USDA are 2 organizations that should be freed of this conundrum. Those who regulate & determine the safety of what we eat, feed to our children & share w/ our families, shouldn’t be constrained by ANY institution. If we are to entrust the safety of our sustenance to any regulatory organization they should be unbiased, unfettered & given the appropriate resources to ensure that our people, not prices, are safe.

I hope that makes as much sense as it did before my brutal edit. Either way, I am writing this post today to bring this petition to your attention. We all need to sign this. We all need to add our two cents. The FDA and the USDA should not be hindered by any outside influnces.

To take part in the petition, click on the widget below, or if that does not work (it requires JAVA), please follow the link below it.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sunday morning I found myself in the produce section of my Stop N Shop staring at some plums when I heard another distressed shopper over my shoulder.

"Excuse me! Sir?" she was talking to the kid who was restocking the berries, "How do you pick out a pineapple?" He stopped, walked over to her and mumbled something which led to her responding, "You don't know? Where is your produce man?"

I wondered to myself, Is there a "Produce Man" here? and finally settled on the plums I was taking home with me.

The woman continued to wonder aloud about her pineapple problem - about the color, the skin, about how she wanted to serve it that day. I looked over to her one more time as I was going, forgetting that with my eyesight, I was probably staring, squinting or focusing way too hard to be considered a casual glancer. "Do you know how to pick out a pineapple?"

Pineapple Pressure = Information Overload

Even without my 20/20 vision I was pretty certain she was talking to me. The pressure was now on: Do I know how to pick out a pineapple??

I was flustered, but I started rattling off whatever knowledge I had, " I feel like I heard something once about pulling out the leaves. If the leaves come out easily, then it's good. It sounds ridiculous, but that rings a bell for me-" [I just found two conflicting sources today - one that claims this is a myth, and another that uses this as its sole technique for picking pineapples!]

"But this green is no good, right?"

"No, I don't think so. It should look a little more yellow. You know, more pineapple-y," yep. I said that. "I also think you should be able to smell when it is ready to go. You said you want it for today? Then you need one that smells just right."

We proceeded to smell pineapples and noted that the green ones smelled like nothing and settled on one that smelled really delicious. She said, "Oh yeah, I can smell the difference! I think this is the one. Thank you so much!"

"No problem. I hope it is delicious!" I wanted to share more pineapple information with her. It seemed as though I had unleashed my internal pineapple database and had more to give, like

store it upside down until you are ready to cut into it, that will help the sweetness flow to the whole fruit, or

go through a step-by-step of what I consider the safe way to cut a pineapple.

But she didn't need any more of my help, so I was just left wondering: Where THE HECK did I learn all of this pineapple stuff??

My 21st Century Produce Man
There are some fruits and vegetables I know all about and others where I am still flustered. Of course, for any long-time readers of mine, it should come as no surprise that Jack Bishop has taught me quite a bit about picking out fresh produce in my favorite cookbook Vegetables Every Day. However, I did have some knowledge before that from my mother (that's where I got the upside down pineapple trick), my grandparents and other family members.

I have never encountered a produce man in any of the supermarkets I have shopped, but I also haven't looked for one either. There is a pretty simple reason for that, too. I tend to carry a produce man around in my pocket all day long! I have an iPhone and I can not tell you how often I refer to it when doing my shopping! I will use it to quickly check out whether or not a certain veggie is actually in season yet, how to pick out the perfect produce and to quickly scan any cool recipes to see if I need to pick up any additional ingredients.

I think it would be great to have an actual human being to talk to about these things, but in the meantime, I am happy I have found something to help me in my times of need!

Do you have a Produce Man that you confer with?

How do you pick out the perfect pineapple?

Where/How did you learn to pick out your produce?

How often do you use the Internet as your kitchen/food reference guide?

Monday, April 18, 2011

I often joke around that I have a blue thumb. I want to be a good gardener and friend to plant life everywhere, but the facts are the facts.

This year, while on my search for sustenance I have also been trying to "green my thumb". I kept a basil plant in the kitchen, bought two ivy plants, a mini money tree (I can hope!) and a lovely plant I call "Phil" (he's awesome and he's a philodendron!).

So far, although there were some ups and downs, I think I have done pretty well based on my own history. Phil and one of the ivy plants nearly doubled in size since coming home. Money tree had a rough winter, but we came through it. The other ivy plant had to be cut all the way down to nothing and is slowly coming back with three little sprigs of life. The fact of the matter is - for the first time in my life all the plants are at least still alive.

It is with this great leap of progress that I felt it was time to take a giant leap (of faith??) forward:

Yesterday I embarked upon: My First Food Planting!

OK, OK, it is not a full-on vegetable garden.

It is not even a vegetable plant.

Well, let's face it... it's not even a plant yet.

Yesterday, I set out to plant my first seeds with great anticipation that later on this summer I will be able to harvest some SEEDS! It is actually quite hilarious when you think about it... Why didn't I just break into my seed packet right there and start noshing away?

I'll tell you why! Because in the amount of seeds I am going to yield from just one of those seeds will astound you! The magic seeds I planted yesterday were sunflower seeds!

I hope I followed the directions correctly, because sunflowers are just about the most fun flower there is and their seeds are a pivotal part of my favorite trail mix.

I didn't have a ton of space to devote to my sunflowers since I am saving space for some vegetable plants I am saving up my pennies for this week, so I only planted 10 or 11 seeds in front of my shed. If they all sprout up, it will look pretty amazing (even though it might freak out my dogs!).

I was reading about sunflowers in my favorite new book today, The Backyard Homestead and I learned of other fantastic things I could do with them if I didn't want to wait around for the seeds. Perhaps you too, will be enlightened of other ways you can enjoy sunflowers in your kitchen while watching them grow in your garden. Did you know that you could eat the immature buds? Or, if you would prefer to see the big flowers, you could wait for them and put their petals in a salad or a soup? I had no idea! Now I don't know what I am going to do!

The one good thing is - I have time on my side. I can mull it over as I watch my beauties grow, because right now there is nothing more that a truly odd-looking rectangle of soil dug into in front of my shed.

According to my seed packet, if I have done everything correctly and if I treat them right between now and then, I should see seedlings in 7-14 days.

...I am very nervous about this. (I asked Phil to say a prayer for them!)

Any tips for this blue-thumbed gardener?

Any ideas of what I should do with the sunflowers?

For other sunflower growers out there - do you keep them for yourself or share them with the birds and the squirrels??

Friday, April 15, 2011

All week I am all over the Internet blogging about food, commenting about food, reading about food and finding tons and tons of stuff! I simply can NOT dedicate a single post to each individual find, so here's what I am going to do: I am going to give you a CliffNotes version of some foodie finds that I think you might all be interested in, so you have stuff to read and tinker with over the weekend! Here it goes:

Food Web Sites and Tools

Google RecipesWell, it was only a matter of time, I guess before the search giant would dip its toe into the recipe search engine field! It is very simple to use. You can either go directly to the landing page for the recipe search engine (using the link above), or type in a recipe you are looking for right into the search bar at www.google.com and then click the "Recipes" option that comes up on the left-hand side once you conduct your search. When you have clicked that option, you have enabled their recipe search feature which opens up a number of options below it including ingredient selections as well as tie constraints. Definitely worth checking out.

Food Reads

Food: Six Things To Feel Good About It's a good news read! Mark Bittman takes a moment to rundown six places where we've been moving in the right direction in our food fights. If you missed this when it ran in the NY Times, then you must check it out today!

What genetically engineered alfalfa means to you This is a truly important article for everyone who is currently not a farmer to read. We get the gist that GE alfalfa is bad, that it threatens organic, real food, but how. A quick intro to the dangers of GE alfalfa and what we can do to safeguard our food against it.

Good Food (Recipes)

Black Bean Soup (Panera Bread) This was my first Google recipe find. It took me back to my favorite recipe search engine (Food.com), but it took me less than a minute to find a black bean soup recipe that I had the time and ingredients to make. This was DELICIOUS. I can't wait until my next big shop so I can make a huge batch of this soup to freeze!

Italian Sausage With Fennel, Peppers and Onions I found this one with Supercook.com since I knew I wanted to do something with the sausage and the fennel I had, but had not come up with this simple brilliance on my own. This recipe was AMAZING! The sausage came out perfectly, the fennel (I love fennel) added such a fabulous flavor to the whole dish, OH! and I only had bell peppers, so I can only imagine what extra fabulousness awaits you if you have the fancy frying peppers that are in the recipe! (My mouth is watering just remembering this recipe...)

Food FIGHTS

Sowing the Seeds for a Fair Farm BillThe Food & Water Watch group and its volunteers have arranged gatherings all over the country (and even some international!) to raise awareness about the upcoming Farm Bill and actions we can all take to ensure that it is fair.

Just Eat Organic! Watch the video, share it, let's get it viral and, above all, CONSIDER IT. If we purchase Organic products, then, economically, it would be foolish for the "powers that be" to threaten organic foods with the deregulation of genetically engineered seeds and animals.

Do you have a food website, tool, food read, recipe or food fight you think I should check out and share with the readers of Searching for Sustenance? If so e-mail me at BlogWithNV@gmail.com!

Below is the original embedded livestream from deepakhomebase. Deepak Chopra has a number of events running on his livestream, so if you are interested in seeing what it's up to right now, then check it out!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The new season of Food Revolution began last night to mixed reviews in the foodie world. There are many that laud Jamie's efforts and others that say this is nothing but Hollywood at its best, glossing over reality and not giving credit to all of the other school food improvement programs that have been in the works for decades.

While I am personally aware of the limitations of the show as it is a television show, I feel that there is still merit in supporting Jamie's efforts if you are looking for supporters in the food movement. Here are my reasons:

Let's consider it a "gateway" revolutionizer. Let's be honest, while you may be aware of numerous programs working towards improving school food and you may recognize that Jamie is barely scratching the surface of what you do every day in your activist role, there are plenty of people in this country that have not even begun to think about their food. Jamie's nice-guy-next-door attitude and goofy techniques are inviting enough for people to come along for a laugh before they even realize they are listening to a foodie sermon.

Ratings roar in this culture. As I often write about our spending power in this blog, in this instance we also have our watching power. Winning an Emmy for Season 1 was very nice, but can also seen as a little patronizing pat on the head, "Nice job Jamie. Aren't you happy now? Now go away!" Ratings are everything in television (just look at how many weight loss programs have sprung up since the airing of NBCs big hit The Biggest Loser)imagine, for a moment, what kind of new TV can be created if Food Revolution continues to garner that kind of success.

TV still drives a lot of day to day discussion. As sad as this is, with all we have going on in the world and our lives, television still seems to be a hot topic in most groups. Well, let's give our food fight a chance to make it into day-to-day discussions.

Jamie is doing the right thing. Perhaps he is limited by the production, or the scope of each season, but, in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Jamie Oliver's message! He's doing what he can and I think it is pretty awesome. He's a television personality. He's a chef. He's a dad. He took these three parts of himself and said I have to do something about this!And he's doing it!

Seeing the learning curve is part of the issue. I think it has been obvious since day one of season one that Jamie was learning on the job here in the US. Some may say, "Why doesn't he just consult with some experts to get through all that before he goes to air?" I think showing all of these obstacles has two overall benefits: (1) It gives those of us who have not battled for school food an idea of what a monster the undertaking is, and (2) It gives a huge amount of credit to the organizations that have been in place in our country for decades!

I heard a anecdote today in a webcast about global crises that actually had me thinking about our fight for good food in schools, in society and in our homes, it went something like this:

Whenever there is a time of change we have three groups of people. We have the few amazing change-makers that have figured out what we need to solve our problems, how to move forward and how to succeed. However, on the other end of the spectrum we have the nay-sayers, those who are very vocal about why all of those solutions will not and can not work. Unfortunately, we make the same mistake all of the time: we run to the nay-sayers and expend all of our energies convincing them while ignoring the largest group of all, those in the middle, on the bench waiting to see what the group, as a whole should do. We should stop working on the nay-sayers and get those people off the bench.

I think Food Revolution, as a television show, speaks to the bench in a huge way. While you may think there are more effective change-makers in the game than Jamie Oliver, I believe we have to respect that he is building our team! So let's support this cheerleader for our cause, as we guide each new teammate to the local or national organization that can best move our cause forward!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Last year, Jamie Oliver's Emmy award winning Food Revolution show in West Virginia was my appointment television every single Friday night. I am ecstatic to say that the Revolution has return to the States and the show begins TONIGHT!

If you missed last season, the media buzz, and the Emmy's and you are wondering what's going on with Jamie Oliver here in the USA, I think his TED talk best encompasses his passion and mission in his revolution.

This season Jamie is bringing his revolution to Los Angeles, California. It is on ABC on 8pm eastern (but I am sure if you miss it it will be somewhere on the Internet). I am so excited to watch the show, I also think the switch from Fridays to Tuesdays will make it easier for more people to watch!

While you wait for the first episode to begin, you can start to get involved in this revolution in a number of ways:

Friday, April 8, 2011

As the news of the impending US government shutdown looms, it seems that all future bills involving government spending will be in danger of some terrible political lashing no matter what's at stake. One such bill that comes to mind for me is the Farm Bill that is to be passed in 2012.

I am terrified that political pundits will use the Farm Bill as a place to compromise for the sake of a more fluid budget agreement rather than truly fight for what we, as a country, need to ensure a healthier and safer way of life. The Farm Bill is a wide-sweeping bill that deals with agriculture spending and all that is under the watch of the USDA.

This is the bill that decides who and what companies get government subsides for their crops. This is the bill that keeps huge agri-business alive and could do more to support smaller farms and farmers. There is so much going on in this bill that it is quite dense and easy to get lost within all that it covers. I am no expert on this bill, I just know that this is where the funding comes from and I would like to see the right people get the appropriate amount(s) of funding in order for them to survive the industry and prosper.

This spring, dozens of Food & Water Watch activists will be hosting events in their community to educate people about our food system, celebrate good food, and empower citizens to take action to support better food policies. Join us in your community!

Our current food system is not working for most Americans. Supermarket aisles offer few good food options for our families, while corporate agribusiness giants push unhealthy processed foods that generate huge profits. At the same time, small and medium-sized farmers across the U.S. are being told to either get big or get out. American food policy — dictated by the U.S. farm bill — favors just a handful of huge companies and their unsustainable methods at the expense of family farmers, consumers and communities.

There are events planned all over the country starting as early as today. There is also a link to create a new event! If you are knowledgeable about the Farm Bill, or at least taking some steps to be cognizant about food in America, perhaps you would like to create an event of your own for friends and families. The idea here is to RAISE AWARENESS about this bill, about our food industry and about what we, as citizens can do to ensure our voices are heard!

UPDATE: While catching up with my blog reading, I just found that the one and only Dr. Marion Nestle wrote a blog post about the Farm Bill as well today. It's a must-read: How to get involved: the Farm Bill

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

It begins with a desire for celebration, a way to break up the monotony of the day-to-day drudgery and to allow for the humanity of socialization to peek its weary head into a day at work. Someone decides to bring food to share among coworkers!

Either for a meeting or for some event (boss' birthday, perhaps?), it's wonderful to have such a break from the norm, it feels like on these days you will actually have something great to talk about when your significant other asks that same dreaded question, "How was work today?"

But what if your job didn't allow for a no-holds-barred approach to the sweet life of office celebration? What if there was no more CAKE?

Yesterday, the New York City Department of Health moved their office to Long Island City, and with the move, they got some new guidelines about operation in their new home. Along with rules about eavesdropping, cubicle decor, personal hygiene, cell phone rings tones and other possibly disruptive sounds, there are rules for what types of food will be acceptable in the office. Here are the DOH Nutrition Standard on What to Serve for meetings and events in their new office as per the new "Guidelines for Life In Cubicle Village":Doh Nutrition Standards 11

So... exhale... cake is still there, but only if it is a "celebration cake"! There are rules about what drinks can and can not be provided and what portion sizes should look like. There are these sections of "DO NOT SERVE" for breakfast and lunch menus that had a lot of people talking here in NYC.

Forbidden Foods:

sugar-sweetened beverages with more than 25 calories per 8 ounces

any juice other than 100% fruit juice (breakfast)

dips high in saturated fats such as cheese, sour cream or ranch (lunch)

high calorie fried snacks such as french fries, chips or fried chicken (lunch)

cake, doughnuts, pastries or sweet buns (breakfast)

I wondered what Billy Cosby would think of this "no cake for breakfast" rule...

And then I wondered how I would feel about all these rules if I worked at the Department of Health, since everyone else was chiming in on it.

My Thoughts

The office in question here is the Department of Health, if I worked in that office, then I believe in promoting good health throughout the city of New York. I do believe it is part of my job (especially during work hours) to represent that claim. It is simple: the employees at The Gap come to work everyday wearing clothing from The Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy (all owned by the same company). Do they wear this Gap clothing 24/7? Probably not, but while at work, they are expected to represent their brand. Why shouldn't the New York City Department of HEALTH do the same thing?

What are your thoughts?

Does your office have a similar policy? (Do you wish they did/didn't?)